How can we stop our recently adopted adult dog from acting out by going to the bathroom in the house?
ByHow can we stop our recently adopted adult dog from acting out by going to the bathroom in the house?
A few weeks ago, we adopted a beautiful 4-5 year old white husky who had been abandoned. The first thing we did was take her to the vet for a physical. According to him, she is four or five years old, and was significantly underweight, but otherwise physically healthy (although we’ll be taking her in this coming week for blood work and to verify/update all her shots). She’s a VERY sweet and loving dog, who seems genuinely grateful that someone picked her up off the streets (we live in Las Vegas, and she was abandoned in June when it’s 110° outside). She’s sweet, friendly, loyal, and has been a perfect dog so far… *except* when we go to bed at night, she gets upset that she’s been left alone, and acts out by going to the bathroom in the house.
We understand the mentality of the dog as a pack animal, and have been taking the appropriate steps to assure that she is calm and submissive (which she seems to be) so I don’t think it’s a dominance play. She’s never done it in front of us, and she doesn’t do it when we go to work. I also don’t believe it’s just that she has a hard time holding it overnight, as she whines when we leave her downstairs to go to bed, and then seems to go within an hour or so.
It typically seems to be urine, although just last night she defecated in the house for the first time. We’ve tried limiting her water intake, and cleaning the marked areas with pet stair remover, bleach, and food grade sanitizer. We’ve also sprinkled a very small amount of ceyenne pepper in the areas where she’s gone (sniffing the spice is supposed to be unplesant and create a negative association with the spot). When we find it, we drag her to it to firmly tell her “NO” before taking her outside; and she obviously knows she’s in trouble and seems ashamed. But nothing we’ve done has seemed to have any impact. We haven’t yet limited her food access, as we’re still trying to put weight back on her, and we haven’t had a problem with solid waste until now.
What’s worse, she seems to be getting more anxious about being left alone for the night rather than less. This behavior has been getting more frequent, and last night for the first time she jumped over the dog gate that we use to keep her downstairs at night and defecated upstairs on the carpet when she found our bedroom door was closed. Honestly, we’d love to have her sleeping on the floor by our bed at night, but we tried this when we first got her, and she marked on the carpet (she distinctly “marked” a small amount on the carpet, as opposed to when she acts out by urinating {a large amount} when left alone at night).
We take her out first thing in the morning, at lunch, right before bed, and often to the dog park once in the evening, and she seems to have normal bathroom habits. Obviously, we’ve been unable to speak to her previous owners (because if we could find them, we’d file a complaint with the Nevada SPCA for animal neglect and endangerment), so we don’t know what her background was, but she doesn’t have any very obvious behavior to let us know when she needs to go out, so I’m assuming she’s never been well potty trained.
We haven’t tried crate training her yet, as I know huskies are a breed that tends to rebel if not given freedom to roam (which may actually be what we’re seeing by keeping her locked downstairs when we’re asleep), and I’ve never had to potty train an adult dog, so I don’t know how effective crate training would be on her, but I’d be willing to try it if I thought it was going to work.
Other than this one (major) issue, she’s been an absolute angel, who we picked up with the intent of finding her owners or finding a new home for, but fell in love with pretty quickly. It’s hard to blame her, as the problem is likely that she was simply never trained properly, but it doesn’t change the fact that we now need to correct the bad behavior, and I’m running out of ideas on how to do it.
Any advice that anyone can offer, or stories from similar situations on what has worked would be very much appreciated!
4 Comments
August 11th, 2011 at 4:27 AM
Get a fenced in back yard, And a doggy door,.
Problem solved.
August 11th, 2011 at 4:28 AM
You have to understand that when you adopt a dog, it can take up to a year sometimes longer for abused or severely traumatized dogs to adjust to a normal life in a stable home. Many dogs will mark a new home, and that’s normal. However, it is important to clean that area with an enzyme based product to eliminate the smell so your dog won’t do it again.
The best thing you can do for ANY dog you bring into your home regardless of age or whether or not they’ve previously been housebroken is to start from scratch. Crate train the dog, put the dog on a set schedule, etc.
Each time I bring a new dog into my pack I always crate the dog for a year so that it 1. knows its place within the pack, 2. can’t get itself into trouble with the pack, 3. can’t mess in my house without me knowing, 4. can’t damage my house/hurt itself, etc.!
Crate training also gives the dog some added security. Don’t put the dog in a crate out of punishment, but rather make the crate its safe place or a place for time out.
You basically need to start over as if the dog was a pup who doesn’t know house manners. This is NORMAL for a shelter/rescue dog.
Get her on a schedule for feeding, and potty breaks. You also will want to purchase an enzyme based cleaner like Nature’s Miracle, Petzyme, and my absolute new favorite PawGanics Stain/Odor Remover (it is 100% organic and works amazingly!). This will eliminate any marks she’s left in your house, and decrease her desire to re-offend in your house.
Once your house is clean, start over. She’s going to act the same way any pup will when you start crate training, but as I said before…you’re starting from scratch with the dog so it is to be expected.
Rebelling is not a choice for her. As you acclimate her to her new home do not be afraid to bring the hammer down. No, you’re not going to beat her or scream at her, but you are going to expect a higher level of behavioral performance in order for her to obtain certain privilages and freedoms in your home. For example, the longer she goes without messing, the more freedom she can have when you’re home. Make her perform a behavior for whatever she gets. Make her sit and wait before feeding, make her sit for petting, etc. By letting her know that you expect more out of her, she will perform at a higher level in order to get what she wants and to please you.
As you’ve been told, her life before this was not stable, and she didn’t have the training she needed to succeed. Thank you for adopting her, and not giving up on her. Just be patient, and feel free to message me if you’d like.
August 11th, 2011 at 5:20 AM
Talk to your vet about it.
August 11th, 2011 at 5:54 AM
It sounds like you are an educated dog owner. Here is what I would do. Immediately go buy a crate with plastic sides. Dogs come from Wolves and wild dogs and they both use their dens as security. The plastic crate feels more secure because it is more like a den. The wire ones are wide open. They are ok, but only if you put a blanket,sheet,or towel over it to cover the sides. Ok, if she does go in the house you have minimized the problem. I would take her crate outside with her in it and clean it up if you have a mess. Easiest if you can put her close to a exit door.
Now, the water and feeding problem. What goes in must come out. If you give her water five times a day there is a high propensity she will pee five times. Same with the food. Try this:
1. Give her water in the morning and evening only outside. Take the water away after 15 minutes and give her another 20 minutes to relieve herself.
2. Feed her 1 time a day only. I prefer evenings. Take the food away with the water. Again, give her another 20 minutes to do her business.
3. Have her checked for worms. Feed her dry dog food. Feed her the same brand always. Feed her the same amount everyday. Any deviations could lead to accidents in the house. Until you are 100 percent confident she is on track I would pet and love on her, but no dog treats.
I know you will hear many diff opinions on what is humane and works best. Simply keep it simple. A dog in the airconditioned home does not need to be given water five times a day. It doesn’t need fed three times a day even as a puppy. Many people act like a puupy is a human and demand it needs fed multiple times a day. I disagree. Do you think Wolf puppies get fed three times a day? Doubtful. They will tell you leaving them in a crate while at work is inhumane. Have you ever watched a dogs habits? They sleep 16 out of 24 hours a day. The crate will keep the dog from damaging the house or furniture if still chewing. And, if they have an accident it’s not a big deal. No stains on carpet or damage and you have it cleaned up in a few minutes with simply water and soap.
When she is on track I’d let her roam the house 24-7 and start giving her other things to eat. Good luck.